Just Fine
by DeepPoeticGirl
Summary: /SasuSaku/ He was at a loss, and wondered if he could last alone until tomorrow. He wondered how in the world Sakura could ever leave him alone like this, two young kids and no one guaranteed to help him. Oneshot.


**Note**_: Uhhh, don't take everything I say here as granted on pregnancy and all that. I mean I did a bit of research, but like not so much so there might be major accuracies if you have experience._

**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Naruto. Or Taylor Swift._

* * *

**Just Fine**

_by_ **DeepPoeticGirl**

* * *

"No."

Sasuke watched her stiffen, limbs frozen midway into exiting their home. Her head tilted back a bit. "Excuse me?"

He crossed his arms defiantly. "I said no. You're not going."

Sakura sputtered, eyes wide and cheeks flaming red (likely from her rising anger). Promptly, she shut the door again—with a bit more force than necessary, he noticed—and turned her body around so she could face him in all her fuming glory. Reproachfully, she pointed her finger at him. "You have _no right_ to tell me that!"

"I'm your _husband_," he said, slightly miffed.

"That doesn't have _anything_ to do with my ninja life, Sasuke!"

"If you get killed—"

"I won't!"

"But if—"

"I _won't_!" Sakura's hands went on her hips, and she looked exasperated. "Sasuke, this is a medic mission about making an antidote for a very peculiar and fatal poison. I'm not on the battlefield."

"There are risks—"

"I'll be surrounded by Suna's most talented and renowned guards."

"There can still—"

"And by the Kazekage's—_Gaara's_ side."

"If the ninja is talented enough—"

She gave him a very pointed look and he promptly shut his mouth, looking away from her irritably. "You're not going," he said, his voice holding a touch of finality.

Sakura would not have it.

"_Sasuke_!"

"My word is final, you will not—"

"UGH!" She made a noise halfway between a shout and a growl, and looked as though she wanted to bash his face in. "You don't hear _me_ complaining about _your_ ANBU life!"

"Sakura, you're still weak—"

"I AM NOT WEAK YOU STUPID THICK SKULLED—"

"Would you let me finish for once?" he said, grasping her shoulders firmly.

She glared at him with all her might, still evidently reeling in anger from his recent insult to her strength.

"You're still weak from childbirth." His eyes softened. "I can't let you go on this mission… it hasn't even been three full weeks since you gave birth to Daisuke. The doctors said it should take about six weeks to recover, if not more, and that you should just relax. Not go on missions."

He saw her rage fade quickly at his words, the frown on her lips turning to form an awed smile. She was evidently touched.

"Sasuke," she said softly. "You big worry wart."

Her arms slipped around his neck and he sighed, pulling her close to him. "Don't go, Sakura."

"I have to go, Sasuke. I'm the best antidote maker here, and they're all counting on me."

"They can send someone else," he said, tightening his arms around her. "Someone who doesn't have a newborn baby and three year old son to help me take care of."

"They could," she agreed. Then he felt her pull away from him, slim fingers brushing bangs out of his face. Those green, green eyes looked at him, full of understanding. "There's a chance they won't do it on time though. These other medics—they're good. I trained them after all." She gave a sharp grin. Proud. "But they're not as good as me, Sasuke. I can make an antidote in just a few days, maybe even just two."

He leaned in to press their foreheads together and closed his eyes. "Shizune and Hokage-sama, too," he insisted quietly. "They can go. And you can stay with me. With our children."

"Shizune has no time. With me not being around the hospital in the last few months, she has a lot on her plate. And you really think they'd send Tsunade-sama off to Suna? Who would take care of the village while she would be gone?"

A grin passed his lips, but it was so lightning quick that he doubted she caught it.

"Naruto," he answered simply, burying a calloused hand in her silky soft pink hair. "The dobe's going to be Hokage soon, isn't he?"

"_Going to be_," Sakura emphasized, giggling. "He's not Hokage just yet."

Sasuke sighed heavily and pulled away, now feeling utterly defeated now that he had used all his arguments against her. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope, you don't."

"Just be careful," he mumbled, cupping her cheek carefully. "You know you tire easily these days."

She laughed. "Oh, Sasuke," she whispered, kissing his nose. "I will be just fine. It's not for nothing that Gaara took it upon himself to bestow on me his bravest guards and his own protection 24/7. He knows of my physical state and importance to the village—to _you_. He won't take unnecessary risks _because he knows you will kill him _if I ever come back with one scratch."

He grunted in response, pulling her close again so he could tuck her head in his chest, and felt her smile against the fabric of his shirt. For that one moment, things were peaceful. Quiet.

"Itachi and Daisuke will miss you," he said.

"They'll be just fine." Her arms slipped away from him and she tilted her head up at him, smiling. "And so will you."

* * *

_Hold on to this lullaby,_

_even when the music's gone._

* * *

The first day was the easiest.

He had done a few days like this before back when Itachi was younger and Sakura had to take full day shifts. He'd be left at home to take care of his son for eighteen hours, but sometimes up to twenty-three. He never had much difficulty because the boy was old enough to sleep through the night without waking every two hours and young enough to tire easily. The hardest part had always been when Itachi cried and Sasuke didn't know what he wanted—he'd end up trying everything to calm him down only to figure out that it was his mother he was missing.

Now, Itachi was three and had mostly grown out of his crying fits. He could ask his father questions and tell him what he needed—he was at a good age to communicate. He was also at an age to play by himself without hassle if Sasuke was too busy, but the latter always made sure to have him play somewhere he could keep an eye on. He still needed to be helped at the potty, though, and wasn't bound to fall asleep if he didn't have his three bedtime stories. Itachi was a good boy, though. He never wandered far of disobeyed his father. _(well, not much anyway.)_

His newborn, Daisuke, spent most of the day sleeping and only needed to be tended to for basic needs. He never cried as long as Sasuke was in the vicinity, and only made the tiniest noise when he became hungry or needed a diaper change. The only time Daisuke made a fuss that day was when Sasuke tried to feed him Sakura's breast-milk by the bottle. But he had predicted the baby would protest—after all, his exposure to the bottle had been limited thus far—so he had been prepared for the unhappy cries. After a few tries and taste, though, Daisuke finally conceded, probably realising that the milk within the bottle didn't taste unlike his mother's. Sasuke considered himself lucky that his newborn hadn't turned out to be a fussy baby, like Itachi.

He spent a lot of time running after Itachi and play-wrestling with him on the floor, all the while making sure to stay in earshot of Daisuke in case he needed anything, until the three year old boy ran out of energy and needed a nap. During naptime, he was able to rest for an hour before Daisuke demanded his attention. Making supper wasn't hard though since he was usually the cook in the family._ (Sakura was getting better though. slowly. very slowly.)_ Then they ate and played some more, watching ridiculous TV cartoons until bedtime came.

"Where's mama?" Itachi asked him when he tucked him into bed, his green eyes shining with childlike curiosity.

"Working," he replied, voice warm. _(His kids always seemed to get the best of him.)_

"Saving people?"

"Yes," he affirmed, sitting by his son's bedside.

"Is she playing _hee-roh_?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yeah." He leaned over and ruffled Itachi's raven hair. "Mama's being a hero."

When his firstborn was fast asleep, he padded to the next-door room and to the crib beside the king-sized bed. He couldn't hold back the tiny smile when he saw his newborn sleeping soundlessly. He quietly checked up on the baby's diaper and gave him a quick onceover before checking the time. Nodding to himself, he went to the kitchen and prepared a bottle, letting out a little huff of amusement when he heard a little cry of protest. He quickly finished preparing and went back to his tiny son to satisfy his hunger.

After Daisuke was sated and had burped, Sasuke lay the baby back down, put a careful kiss to his head before sitting by the crib and waiting until he finally fell back asleep. When he was, he finally made his way to his bed and collapsed on it.

In the end, Sasuke was spent, but happy. _Some things could have gone a lot worse_, he thought to himself before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Yes, the first day was easiest. _(It all went downhill from there, though.)_

* * *

_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

* * *

On the second day, Sasuke was woken up by the sound of a piercing cry, when the light of the sun was just starting to hit the sky.

Surprised that Daisuke was up this early, he immediately concluded something was wrong and was up to his feet within seconds. When he came to the crib, he immediately noticed his burning red ear and the bloody scratches and was quick to scold himself for not putting on his scratch mitts after he had fed him. He carefully cradled the baby and put the mittens on, shushing and rocking in hopes that he would calm down. When the cries didn't die down, Sasuke went down to the kitchen to wipe down what little blood had been on his ear before resuming his tries to calm his newborn down.

Then Itachi started crying, no doubt from being woken up so early, and Sasuke knew this was the start of a bad day.

.

.

He had to resort into calling Ino over, two hours later.

Sakura had told him that she had talked it out with her best friend and that if ever it came down to it—if ever he really needed help—he could call her.

So he did.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Sasuke told her, rubbing his free hand over his tired face while his occupied arm supported a sleeping Itachi.

"Earache, from the looks of it," Ino said, glowing green hands receding from the crying baby's head.

"Itachi never had one of those."

"Oh yes, he did. Sakura probably just didn't tell you he had it, or she took care of it before you ever had to deal with it."

"Can you help him?"

"I can help take away the pain a little, Sasuke, but I don't have the amount of skill Sakura has to take it all away," she said sympathetically.

"Great," he muttered, gently patting the three year old boy's back when he stirred a bit.

"I can stay, if you want. You look a little overwhelmed here."

Sasuke seemed to consider it for a split moment, but then shook his head. "I can handle them. Kami knows this might not be the last time I'll need to handle the kids by myself for a few days." He glanced to the sleeping boy on his shoulder, then to Daisuke, before he looked back at Ino. "I'll be alright."

Ino nodded. "Well, if it all becomes too much be sure to call me. Sakura would kill me if she came back with you dead from lack of sleep!"

He rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing."

"Figure speech, Sasuke."

.

.

Ino had managed to calm Daisuke down by taking some of the pain away and healing the minor scratches, but now Itachi refused to remain quiet. He threw fits for the smallest things—he didn't want this type of food, he didn't want to take his bath, he didn't want to watch cartoons, he didn't want to play a certain game, and so on so forth—and Sasuke's control slipped by the end of the afternoon as he ended up rather loudly and coldly scolding his son, which ended in terrified eyes and more crying. Daisuke, too, had not enjoyed hearing his father's new tone of voice.

It would be an hour before he got Daisuke to calm down, and another two hours before he could finally get Itachi to look at him without being scared. _(Sasuke swore he would never do it again… if there was one thing he never wanted to see again—it was his children deathly afraid of him.)_

That night, after Sasuke had tucked in his son, he was so tired that he forgot to read Itachi his bedtime stories and to feed Daisuke on time. He went to bed thinking he'd have a goodnight sleep, when it fact he would get woken up four times during the night: once by Itachi saying he couldn't sleep and had to be read the bedtime stories, twice by Daisuke who needed to be fed the first time and a diaper change the second, and a final time by Itachi again saying he had a nightmare "about mommy dying".

He would sleep three hours in total that night.

During the third day, Itachi was difficult to deal with. His constant crying and hiccupping, combined with Daisuke's earache, turned out to be the perfect formula to give Sasuke a raging headache. He was left sitting on the couch with his firstborn at his side, whispering reassuring words and telling him that his mother would come back soon, while he held Daisuke in his other arm and tried to shush him as well. Silently, he wished for Sakura to come back soon so he could help him deal with the situation but he knew she probably wouldn't be back until another day.

Daisuke's earache got worse. The crying got louder, on both sides. Nothing Sasuke said to them reassured them, nothing he tried worked.

He tried to call Ino, but she didn't answer. When he called the hospital to ask for her, they told him she was performing an urgent surgery with Shizune. He hung up quickly after that, too frustrated and exhausted with life to hear them asking if he needed help. He was at a loss, and wondered if he could last alone until tomorrow. He wondered how in the world Sakura could ever leave him alone like this, two young kids and no one guaranteed to help him.

But when Tsunade showed up at his doorstep an hour later, he understood just how far Sakura planned ahead.

.

.

"Thank you."

Tsunade paused midway out the door, before glancing back and holding his gaze steadily. One side of her lips quirked a bit. "You've really worn yourself out, haven't you?"

"It's been really hard to take care of them alone when they're so young."

"That's why she warned us ahead of time. If ever you'd call, if ever Ino was unavailable… she wanted us to check up on you. She knew you wouldn't reach out unless you really needed the help. She's—"

"Amazing?"

"—well, I was going to say 'always prepared'." She smiled a bit arrogantly. "Yours works better though."

Sasuke was too tired to repress the light blush reddening his ears, but she pretended not to notice. He grunted, then slowly lifted himself from the couch and turned to gently pick up Itachi from the sofa. He cradled him carefully in his arms and nodded thankfully one final time at the Godaime before he headed towards his bedroom and laid his oldest son down on the king-sized bed. He then approached the crib to the bed cautiously as not to wake the newly earache-free baby, before dragging himself in bed as well. A hand rested between two bars of the crib, unconsciously reached out towards the Daisuke, and then wrapped his other arm around his Itachi's sleeping form to bring him up against him. His lips twitched in a faint smile when his oldest son responded by sleepily cuddling his side.

And in that moment, he regretted nothing.

* * *

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

* * *

She got home early. The mission was a completely success and she hadn't expected for it to go half so well.

In a quick movement, Sakura removed her boots and stripped her jounin vest, heading straight for the bedroom. Tsunade had informed her, after she reported her mission, that he had gone straight to bed after her visit, not nearly three hours ago, and that he was deeply exhausted. She also briefly informed her that Daisuke had had an earache, to which Sakura winced at, but that she had taken care of it earlier so she had nothing to worry about. Afterwards, the pink haired medic thanked her and bid a speedy goodbye before dashing home.

Now she was in her bedroom, staring at her three most precious people in the world.

He looked so, so exhausted—the heavy bags under his eyes showed just that. But there was a light to him, a little wave of peacefulness around him and that little special tilt of his mouth that made her smile because she knew what that meant. She'd seen that combination five times before: the morning after their wedding, the first time she told him she was pregnant, after the birth of their first son, Itachi, the second time she told him she was expecting and after she gave birth to their newborn, Daisuke. That combination of signs, she knew, only happened when he felt so genuinely content with his life.

Tears are forming in her eyes and her smile widened impossibly as she watched them all: her little family. She swore to never forget this moment and locked the image in her brain to keep, forever and always.

Quietly, Sakura joined the side of the bed and brushed the locks away from her husband's face before pressing a soft, loving kiss to his forehead. He stirred a bit and struggled to open his eyes, blinking in surprise when he sees his wife. It doesn't take a moment more for his features to lighten in affection.

"Hey," he murmured. "You're back."

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "I am."

A single tear fell but she quickly wiped it away, laughing quietly when Sasuke grabbed her wrist and tugged gently.

"Wait," she whispered, and turned towards the crib. Bending over, she kissed her newborn's hair and softly murmured loving words to him, smiling when he made a little grunt but didn't wake nonetheless. Then Sasuke tugged her wrist again and she giggled, accepting his invitation this time. She instantly went on to slip at his unoccupied side, snuggling him before she gently brushed her oldest son's hair. Sasuke kissed the top of her head and wrapped his free arm around her tightly. As he bumped his chin to her head, she raised hers to look at him.

"I missed you," she said.

He kissed her mouth in response, and she smiled.

* * *

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe & sound_

* * *

_YES. FLUFFY FANFIC IS FLUFFY._

_Honestly, I'm not sure what I think about this because it's like almost 2:30 AM, but I'm pretty proud of it nonetheless because I made Sasuke a housewife. HA._

_But honestly, I do like this. I mean, Sakura stood her ground against him for good reasons, left Sasuke to take care of the kids for a couple days and let him bond with them, however painful that sounded in the fic, and she makes him reach out to other people for help when he needs it. And I like hopeless Daddy! Sasuke who doesn't know what to do because he's always so damn perfect at everything so he should be unsure about one thing._

…_lol. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED. THERE'S MORE TO COME, HOPEFULLY SOON._

_LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCHO!_

_P.s. I am revising this tomorrow because I don't feel like it tonight (morning?). I might add a few things._

_P.p.s. Yes the quotes are from Safe&Sound from Taylor Swift._

**DeepPoeticGirl**


End file.
